socky, press secretary fortheobamacampaignis in las vegas with the president. good toseebothofyou. nice big smiles. i love this optimism. we're all excited about tomorrow. barbara, let me start with you. there was something politico's chief political columnist wrote today that sort of made me smile and i wanted to get your reaction. roger same mondays wrote, there are three things mitt romney must do to win the presidential debate on wednesday. unfortunately, nobody knows what they are. do you know what they are? >> well, i think it's going to be talking to the american people about how the middle class has been buried under the higher taxes, the higher regulations and the -- just the job-killing policies for the past four years and how mitt romney can talk straight to the american people about how he has a plan to create jobs, specific things, like in my home state of virginia, he's going to allow us to have exploration off shore with energy so we can have good high-paying jobs. that's something supported by democrat senators like mark warner and jim webb in my home state

in his new appeal to the middle class. >>presidentobamaandibothcare abouter poor and middle class families the difference is my policies will make things better for them. >> he goes on to say his policies would create 12 million jobs over the next four years. but in fact checkers say those jobs would happen no matter who is president. americans for job security is out warning voters in six swing states about the consequences of reelecting the president. and with todd akin officially staying in the race claire mccaskill is gearing up her campaign attacking his legitimate rape marks. and we have to show you thissed a from new hampshire libertarian party. the ad shows him taking on a horde of democrat and republican zombies and yelling we are not a mindless society. he does star in theed a but his campaign didn't pay for or produce the spot. more bill after the break. stay with us. ♪ trickle down does not work. in romney's world, cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft. that is a whole bunch of bunk. the powerful may steal an election, but they can

for mitt romney for part of the republican primary season. good afternoontobothofyou gentlemen. >> good to be with you. >> let me start with you. tell me about the balance that romney has to strike, calling out, calling out president obama without appearing to be unfair or perhaps even nasty. >> well, i think it's all a matter of tone and language. and for governor romney, i would describe it as being respectfully but passionately aggressive. so in the way he refers to the president, referring to him as mr. president, with all due respect, but he also can't let that put him into a defensive posture where he doesn't -- i agree with karl rove, actually call out the president's policy. so i wouldn't phrase it as calling out the president, but calling out the president's policies. if he has a substantive debate about the president's economic policies and what has happened with them, then i think he stays in a very safe territory. >> richard, the obama campaign going pretty far to lower expectations over the past couple of weeks. a recent report on air force one, one of the traveling press s

presidentobamaasvulnerable, israel and iran. today, the nominee was hammering awayatbothofthem. romney made a bold prediction, jim acosta is traveling with romney and joining us with the latest, jim? >> wolf, even though mitt romney's campaign has largely been a pitch to fix the nation's economy, he has been stepping up his attacks on the issue of national security and specifically on who is a better friend of the state of israel. there are signs that the obama campaign is starting to pay attention. at a military academy in pennsylvania, mitt romney tried to make the case for a new commander in chief. romney questioned the president's recent description of events in the middle east as bumps in the road. >> i certainly don't consider it a bump in the road, i recognize the seriousness. >> it follows net ya hue's dramatic presentation about the nuclear worries. >> a red line should be drawn here. >> just days after the president declined to meet with him, the two leaders spoke on the phone, and then romney, who enjoys a relationship with netanyahu, got a phone call. they are remin